What C-suite leaders say about responsible generative AI at scale

• Has executive leadership aligned on a position for responsible AI?
• Does your company have a steering committee for AI projects?
• Are you confident that company IT infrastructure can support enterprise-wide use of generative AI?

Kyndryl commissioned a survey asking 109 C-suite executives these questions, and others, to illustrate how close (or maybe not so close) companies are to being able to realize the benefits of responsible, generative AI at scale.

We share key findings here as a resource for you to start similar conversations about readiness for responsible, enterprise-wide use of generative AI at your organization.

Most companies are testing generative AI, but almost half need a more strategic approach.

While few respondents’ companies (18%) have generative AI applications live today, a majority are in various stages of discovery and proofs of concept. Only 6% of respondents said their companies were not prioritizing generative AI.  

But if we’re on the cusp of an AI-everywhere era, one may also expect planning has been a priority. That seems less clear. Only 10% of respondents said they’ve completed the work of documenting a strategy for enterprise-wide activation of generative AI. Almost half (48%) haven’t even started.

The findings suggest a gap between ambitions for total AI adoption and the motions to enable it. What’s behind the gap? Given the relative infancy of generative AI, questions abound regarding viability at scale, which may complicate the work of documenting a strategy.

Notably, those who scored higher overall for readiness are much farther along.  

Q: My organization has a documented strategy/plan for enterprise-wide activation of generative AI.

Q: In what timeline are you confident that your organization will be ready to deploy generative AI enterprise-wide?

Q: How closely aligned are IT and business in conversations about priorities related to generative AI?

Executive activities to align on responsible use of AI and AI governance remain a work in progress.

Only 17% of the executives surveyed said their companies have documented a position on responsible AI. Another 50% say their leadership team peers have a position on responsible AI, but it’s not yet fully documented.

The numbers may reflect that regulations are still evolving or the sheer complexity of AI governance. Organizations that look to deploy generative AI at scale will be held accountable for ethical use standards, explainability, bias detection methods and other responsible use considerations. For many, this is uncharted territory.

Organizational AI steering committees may ultimately inherit tasks related to arbitrating responsible use. Our survey findings show definite movement toward appointing steering committees for AI projects (40%) and data governance councils (42%) to inform generative AI readiness.

Respondents whose companies have documented a position on responsible AI were significantly more likely to have an AI steering committee and a data governance council. The latter's importance cannot be overstated, given that AI—generative or otherwise—is only as good as the data that powers it.

Due to the critical, complex and nuanced nature of the work, we also anticipate a new class of AI governance professionals will emerge to help their companies orchestrate large language model ops (LLMOps), data privacy, risk remediation, governance and other concerns of generative AI at scale. They will help their organizations pioneer the art of the possible with the technology.

Q: To what degree has executive leadership at your organization aligned on a position for responsible AI?

Q: Does your organization have a steering committee for AI projects?

Q: Does your organization have a data governance council that can guide you on generative AI readiness?

Foundational, technical requirements also need attention to enable responsible, generative AI at scale.

Beyond considerations about how organizational leaders can govern enterprise-wide use of generative AI, there are the technical requirements.

The companies that will reap the most from generative AI will be those that solve for a digital foundation, including a data foundation. They will enable seamless interaction and automation among apps, data and infrastructure. They also will implement strong resiliency programs to reduce potential risk.

Our survey results suggest only 1 in 5 executives are very confident in their organization’s readiness to implement a data strategy that takes full advantage of generative AI. Notably, those whose companies have established a data governance council are significantly more likely to be very confident.

Roughly 25% say they are very confident that their company’s IT infrastructure can support enterprise-wide use of generative AI. One quarter either lack confidence or are not at all confident. Those who were very confident were also more likely to report alignment between their IT and business operations on generative AI priorities.  

Those lacking confidence in their infrastructure were also significantly more likely to lack confidence in the skills available within their companies to establish and support enterprise-wide generative AI.

Q: How confident are you in your company’s readiness to implement a data strategy that takes full advantage of generative AI? 

Q: How confident are you that your company’s IT infrastructure can support enterprise-wide use of generative AI? 

Q: How would you rate your organization’s enterprise app development and integration capabilities? 

Q: How would you rate your organization’s enterprise security and threat management capabilities? 

Will progress meet executives’ ambitious outlook?

The promise of generative AI is enormous, and results from our survey add to the body of evidence that C-suite leaders worldwide are eager to understand what it can do for their organizations. The results also illustrate there’s work to do. From a technology perspective, we’re still very much at the beginning of this journey. Still, there’s a significant gap between ambition and attention to building the foundation that will enable it.

To enable responsible use of generative AI at scale, companies will need to navigate foundational steps—from coordination across organizational functions to technical capabilities.  Moreover, readiness will need to be continually evaluated. A strategy for enterprise-wide activation of generative AI and plans for governance can’t be established and then put on a shelf. They must be revisited periodically to ensure alignment with the overall direction of the business.

An optimistic 32% of respondents said they expect their companies will be ready to deploy generative AI enterprise-wide within 12 months.

The timeline may be ambitious, but the momentum can’t be denied.

How we got the data

We engaged a third-party research firm to conduct an online survey with 109 C-Suite leaders from large enterprises (1,000+ employees). Responses were collected from February to March 2024.

Respondent locations

• 52% North America
• 16% India
• 16% Japan
• 16% United Kingdom

Industry breakdown

• 26% Financial services
• 28% Industrial / manufacturing
• 26% Retail
• 20% Other